


Dignified

by ketchupblood



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Gen, Gen Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-04
Updated: 2009-10-04
Packaged: 2017-10-17 17:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/179486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ketchupblood/pseuds/ketchupblood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keigo spent his first day in Japan alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dignified

**Author's Note:**

> Not in canon timeline.
> 
> [](http://community.livejournal.com/mission_insane/profile)[ **mission_insane**](http://community.livejournal.com/mission_insane/) [Colors](http://ketchupblood.livejournal.com/63109.html#cutid4)/purple

Keigo's father had three meetings to attend the day they moved back to Japan and his mother had plans to catch up with her friends, as if daily calls irrespective of high international rates hadn't been enough. His father was gone by the time he woke and his mother stayed for long enough to give him a peck on the cheek before disappearing into the backseat of her Mercedes.

Keigo spent his first day in Japan alone, surrounded by servants unloading cardboard boxes worth more than they would make in their lifetime. They didn't spare the boy in tiny Armani shoes a second glance and he didn't bother himself with them. Servants were meant to be invisible, his mother told him repeatedly. He shouldn't lower himself to talk to them unless he wanted something. Keigo watched them move his boxes around for a full ten minutes while he tried to think of a way to ask them to leave his things alone. One of the maids shooed him away before he could get the words out.

He spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly. The house was large and made for adults. There were tennis courts, but his gear was still packed away and the rackets in the storehouse were cheap and unbalanced knockoffs that the servants had used while the family was away. It took Keigo only moments to decide that it wasn't worth the bother of playing with inferior equipment and simply walking away.

They had moved to England when Keigo was just learning to eat solid food so the house they returned to had very little for him to do. The games his parents had kept from their childhoods were worn and saved only for sentimental value. The servant who showed them to Keigo told him that he was certainly not expected to play with such old things and that they could find newer games for him if the young master wished.

Keigo agreed, but even after the brand new cards and boards were in front of him, he had no one to play with. Keigo glared at the nearest servant and wondered aloud at the lack of foresight in buying only multi-player games. The servant bowed politely and promised to have new games ready for him by the next day.

In the end, he found himself back at the courts, balancing carefully on the white boundary lines. The men sweeping the leaves off the tennis courts watched him oddly, but he ignored them except to say to no one in particular that the servants shouldn't bother themselves with their master's business.

They muttered among themselves, no doubt complaining about the bratty young master. Atobe considered speaking to his father of their behavior but decided against it. The opinions of groundskeepers shouldn't matter to him and they wouldn't.

In the end, he couldn't have spoken to Father anyway. The sun had fallen when a servant respectfully asked if the young master would like dinner now. Keigo was about to refuse when his stomach rumbled and he could think of no dignified denial after that. The servants herded him into the dining room and set the beautifully plated dinner in front of him. He ate the soup and half of his steak under their approving gazes. The rest of his food he picked at moodily until they took the plates away.

The butler saved him from wiling the hours until bed away by informing him that the bath would be ready in roughly an hour and that they needed to be told of the young master's preferred dressing habits before he turned in for the night. Keigo spent the hour going over every detail of his wardrobe for some maid who the butler told him would lay out his clothes for him every morning.

He found pajamas in the bathroom to change into after he finished washing and his bed covers had been turned out invitingly.

He didn't see his father or mother before going to bed and he didn't hear them until after midnight, while he tossed and turned in the unfamiliar bed. They walked past his room quickly, tired probably. He fell asleep to absolute silence. The house didn't even creak, and if it did, it did so behind soundproofed walls.

Morning came far too soon, with a maid tossing open the curtains and another laying out his clothes. Keigo almost scowled and only just remembered himself in time to force a smile.

"Good morning, young master!" the braver one chirped. "Your mother is waiting for you downstairs in the breakfast room."

He nodded graciously--or as graciously as a twelve year old could--and put the clothes on. He absolutely did not run down the halls, but he walked maybe a little quickly. This new house did not suit him at all and he wanted nothing more than to return to England. A servant opened the door to the breakfast room for him.

"Hyoutei Junior High sent you an invitation to their prospective students' banquet, dear," Keigo's mother informed him once he walked in, pointing to a letter placed neatly next to his breakfast plate. "Your father says it's a good school."

Keigo paused at the abrupt new topic but picked the letter up and skimmed it over. "Am I going here?" he asked, carefully concealing his apprehension.

"We would like for you to." His mother took a sip of her tea.

"All right." He put the letter back down and bit his lip. "Do I have to go to the banquet?"

"We think it would be a good idea for you to meet the administrators before you enrolled." She waved a servant over and looked pointedly at Atobe's place at the table. The servant bowed and rushed to get his breakfast. "Your headmaster sounds most obliging from the letter he sent us."

"This one?" Keigo feigned interest as best he could. Despite the topic, he found a surprising amount of comfort from Mother's careless talk of manipulating everyone they came in touch with.

"No, of course not." She motioned for him to sit. "That one is a standard invitation."

"Oh. What did—" he picked at the placemat before she slapped his hand lightly ("Stop it, that's undignified") "—what did the letter say?"

"Not much." She smoothed the placemat over but didn't seem inclined to lecture him. "Only that Hyoutei caters to the... well situated. He seemed willing to work with us. We also spoke to a few of our associates before we came back to Japan and there will be contacts for you to make in school."

"Anyone in particular?" Keigo put his hands on his lap, focusing on not fidgeting.

"No, there are no truly important families with children your age, but it never hurts to build relationships." Her tone belied her words and said exactly what she thought of _that_ idea. "It's good practice, in any case."

"Ah." The servant came back with a plate of pancakes and sausages for Keigo. He waited for her to leave before picking up his fork. "Are you and father busy today too, mother?"

"Yes, of course." She picked the invitation up and looked it over. "Your father has several business meetings and I have an appointment at a spa that your Aunt Mariko recommended."

"Oh..." Keigo stabbed his pancakes mindlessly.

"Don't play with your food, Keigo."

"Yes, Mother." He spooned a forkful into his mouth.

"Kabaji-san will arrive tomorrow. I'll tell him to send Munehiro-kun if you're bored."

Keigo nodded, mouth still full.

"You should direct the servants for today, then." She put the invitation back down and stood up. "It will be good for you to learn to give directions. I'm off, then."

"Have a nice day, Mother." Keigo bowed his head politely.

"Don't let them ruin any of the china. Those are heirlooms."

"Yes, mother."

The servant took his mother's plates once she left. Keigo watched her go before picking his fork back up and finishing his breakfast. He studied the servants unpack for a few minutes before deciding that they were competent enough to place the items exactly where his mother had directed.

He found the one who promised to bring him single player games only to find that the man thought twelve year olds would be interested in games clearly marked "Ages 5 and Up." Keigo almost lost his temper but remembered just in time that Father would be angry at him for appearing undignified in front of the help.

Instead, Keigo ordered the servant to unpack his rackets and spent the next few minutes vindictively pleased to have forced the man on a wild goose chase. His pleasure didn't last, though, and it was far too long between the end of it and the man's return with the rackets. Keigo sat idly in the living room, which had not been packed up to England and was discomfortingly alien to him, as he waited.

Finally, the servant returned and handed the rackets over. It was all Keigo could do to get up at a dignified pace and not leap to them. The servant bowed and left and Keigo was left alone. He glanced this way and that and, seeing no one about, rushed to the courts.

There were serving machines in one of them and he turned one on to a quick pace. The rhythmic 'thumps' of balls against his racket were the first familiar thing he'd felt since arriving in Japan and he applied himself to practice vigorously. It wasn't until the machine had nearly run out of balls that he missed. Excitedly, Keigo exclaimed, "Did you see that?"

Several servants looked up from their tasks and smiled at him. A few of them clapped and one or two cheered.

And for the moment, Keigo forgot all about being the dignified heir of his house and beamed at them.


End file.
